A new trend is sweeping Silicon Valley, and established startups are not only pivoting, but “re-founding” themselves entirely. Companies like Airtable, Handshake, and Opendoor use this dramatic language to signal fundamental business model changes, often related to AI integration. It's not about admitting failure. It's about revitalizing a startup in a mature company.
A new buzzword has been born in the startup world and is being talked about in Silicon Valley boardrooms. “Refounding” is what Airtable, Handshake, and Opendoor are calling their latest strategic overhaul, and it suggests something deeper than a typical corporate restructuring.
Airtable started this trend in June with a bold declaration that caught the industry's attention. According to the New York Times, the company said in a statement that it “saw this as a moment of reinvention for the company, rather than simply adding AI capabilities to its existing platform.” Collaborative database platforms are not just adjusting functionality, they are reimagining the entire value proposition around AI.
Co-founder and CEO Howie Liu is adamant that this is not the pivot. “This is not about doing something wrong and then changing direction,” Liu told the NYT. The company considered softer words such as “restart” and “transformation,” but ultimately chose “founding words” because it felt the stakes were the same. This is a clear confession from a company that has been around for nearly a decade.
The refounding move reflects a broader reality that bedevils mature startups. AI is not just a feature to add. The way software companies think about their core products is fundamentally changing. Handshake, a career platform that connects students and employers, exemplifies this shift. Chief marketing officer Katherine Kelly describes their re-founding as bringing startup culture “back into an established business.”
But re-founding isn't just a matter of technology; it's about restoring the urgency that made these companies successful in the first place. Handshake told employees they would return to the office five days a week and “work at a pace and number of hours that are meaningful and help us achieve our goals,” Kelly said. This is a dramatic cultural reversal that shows how serious these companies are about transformation.
Opendoor, a real estate technology company, represents another side of the reintegration trend. While specific details of the re-foundation are still limited, the company's inclusion in the move suggests that even real estate tech sees AI as a fundamental change rather than an incremental upgrade.
